Drowning in the Waters of My Soul
by Dessmina
Summary: "And he drowns... he never does stop drowning." A collection of drabbles about Skull.
1. He Drowns

The rush of water as he falls into the lake, little hands desperately reaching up, legs kicking as he tries to swim up desperately. But his pitiful swimming is no match for the seaweed, which grasps his legs tightly, refusing to let him go. And his last desperate thoughts are of regret and refusal to die.

And he drowns.

And then he drowns again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

He then wakes on muddied ground, the face of his uncle hovering over him.

"W porządku, Czesio?"

And Czesio has no idea how to answer because he is decisively not alright because the seaweed pulled him and the water filled his lungs and he remembers dying over and over again - drowning over and over again.

And his mind just can't take all of this in and so he starts crying. His uncle hovers, offering comfort and saying 'you are fine now'. But Czesio has never felt less fine than in that exact moment, so he just simply continues to cry.

This is the first death in the long line of deaths that Skull survives.

He can never stop drowning.

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 **A/N Czesio (Che-shio) is a shortening of a Polish name Czesław (Che-ss-wa-v). I used this name because the Polish for Skull is Czaszka (Cha-sh-k-ah). I imagine that once he becomes interested in death (because of the whole dying thing) the kids in his class would call him Czaszka, as a nickname. As such, once he became a stuntman he just translates the nickname from Polish 'Czaszka' to English 'Skull', just to make it easier to say and to attract a larger audience.**

 **Translations:**  
 **W porządku, Czesio? = Alright, Czesio?**

 **His uncle is really worried, like screaming on the inside, but he's trying not to show it, hence the casual, strained 'Alright?'.**


	2. Water

He loves and loathes water. Sometimes he remembers the panic and despair of his first death. The icy grip that never let him go. That's when he loathes it.

When the water is peaceful and the seaweed is far away from him and he can just simply be, that's when he loves it. The water all around him, soothing and embracing him.

He has no obligations, no responsibilities, no masks.

He can at last just be himself. Just exist.

Sometimes he loathes those moments, as they remind him that even if he stopped his flames from helping him breath underwater, even if let the water rush in-

In the end he would always wake up.

* * *

 **A/N: One quote that I think describes Skull well is from a song by Imagine Dragons: If you could only save me. I'm drowning in the waters of my soul. Also all of you who read Coin Toss and are wondering when the next chapter will get there: no idea, probably when I get the motivation to write it?**


	3. Oodako

Oodako is the one who ultimately helped him with his fear of water.

He still carried the fear from his first death when meeting the Arcobaleno. So when they had a mission which required diving in a lake, his adamant refusal just cemented his image of a weak, useless civilian.

Reborn still pushed him into the lake, after a quick rundown of how to use flames to keep breathing and talk underwater - and the sudden rush of water and how he couldn't get out oh no he was going to drown again - was a shock to him. It was in his quick panic, when none of the others have yet to jump in that he realised that there was something keeping him afloat. When he looked down, flames automatically helping him breath underwater, he saw a squishy, red octopus. Skull stared at it and the octopus stared back.

When the others dived in, they saw Skull hugging an octopus while screaming "SKULL-SAMA WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER HE PROMISES". Instantly, Lal Mirch gave him a kick that sent him spiralling underwater, octopus clenched tight, while she herself screamed "IDIOT, YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE AWAY OUR POSITION!"

He kept the octopus, naming him Oodako and made sure to swim with him from time to time.

* * *

 **A/N: "But Dessmina, we get that they can breath underwater because of the flames doing so-and-so, but talking?" Listen, because they can breathe, they can talk. The screaming? It would actually not be heard above water as sound does not travel outside of the water e.g. if you clink two spoons underwater you can't hear them unless you submerge yourself underwater too. The enemies don't have underwater equipment to pick up sound, only above water and cameras, so no chance of Skull giving them away tbh. Chances are, Verde is twitching in the background, wanting to correct Lal that no, there's no way they can give away their position because of what I mentioned before, so unless their enemies are right next to them, under the water, not happening. He refrains because he has survival instincts though.**


	4. Life and Death

"SKULL-SAMA, THE IMMORTAL STUNTMAN THAT DEATH ITSELF HATES FOR HE DOES NOT STAY DEAD!"

What a lie.

The Arcobaleno pick up on the untruthful ringing, and they assume that all of that statement is untrue. They think that just because they hear the ringing of a lie, that there is no truth in the other words he speaks.

"Shut up Lackey," Reborn sneers, seeing a lie and missing the truth. He clicks the safety off his gun and aims it at Skull. And the others react no better, another beating, an empty smile, no support and no one seeing the truth.

As he's nursing his pounded head, he thinks of what he said.

It is not death that hates him. He is certain that death would gladly take him, help him leave the world of the living.

It is life that hates him. But even that is not truly right. For life loves him so much it refuses to let him go. Keeps him living.

There is an awfully thin line between love and hate.

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 **A/N: Thank you for all the faves and follows. A big thank you to: CakeVengeance, YokaiAngel, BlackCanvas624 and TheSilverHunt3r for reviewing!**


	5. Birth

Czesław was born small and pitiful, hair and eyes bright purple. The midwife declared him a freak along with his father, but his mother, barely alive snarled weakly and declared him a gift. She died not long after naming him. And as his own father didn't want him, his uncle - his mother's brother - decided to take him in.

He was born in Poland, during oppression and communism. Where curfew was to be followed, where strikes were frequent and instantly silenced-

Where he was caged and chained and no freedom existed.

Skull was born carefree and foolhardy, from the ashes left by his former self. The circus welcomed him with open arms as he was just a freak like them. There was no rejection for something he had no control over.

He was born in a circus, a motorbike by his side and a stuntman's clothing on his back. The rules still existed, but they were flexible and the only fear of death he had was of his own making rather than a barrel of a gun-

This is where he found out what freedom was and the cage and chains fell away.

* * *

 **A/N: A remainder: Czesław is pronounced something along the lines of chess-wah-v.**

 **This is my favourite drabble that I have written. I did some actual research for this. Strikes refers to people going on strikes not fighting, although that was probably common as well. Poland during the time Skull was born was not pretty, with communism still rampant, an enforced curfew and the police carrying guns and not afraid to shoot anyone that did not comply. For some more context, the Fall of Communism (in Poland) happened in 1989, Skull was born in 1964. If you're curious why he wasn't taken away because of his colouring - I decided that because it is set in KHR uncommon hair colours are more common. Although, I do headcanon that purple was less common than some others, at least in Poland during those times!**

 **Thank you to all faves and follows. A big thank you to the reviewers: CakeVengeance, TheSilverHunt3r, ilovecartoonsgirl, Anerali, Angelcat8 and guest! I am glad so many of you are enjoying these little drabbles^^**


	6. Cloud

He was a cloud.

It was something that others tended to ignore, simply because he did not act like one should. He didn't try to make himself stronger, he was cowardly, he had no territory - how on earth could he be a cloud.

"The only thing that makes you a cloud," Verde once remarked, eyes full of scientific curiousity, "is all the drifting you do."

But they didn't know Skull well enough to judge, to see how much of a cloud he really was. He drifted. He did strive to become stronger - of stronger mind instead of body, instead of leaving behind corpses and blood, he left confusion. He let them all think they knew everything about him, that they managed to chain him down to fit a certain view they had of him.

But what cloud allowed themselves to be chained to the expectations of others?

His territory was that of people, and not simply a place. The moment he knew that communism was a thing of the past in Poland and that his uncle and family would be finally safer - he could feel his flames purr in his infant form, happily settling down from the anxiety he felt when he joined the circus all those years ago.

He was most definitely a cloud, if not in the way they expected him to be.

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 **A/N: Fall of Communism in Poland: 1989. Arcobaleno curse: 1983. Thank you for favouriting and following and a big thank you to reviewers: Mukuro234, YokaiAngel, TheSilverHunt3r and ilovevartoonsgirl.**


	7. Curse

Sometimes he wonders. He knew he could not die from a young age, and yet he managed to grow. That meant that at some point, he would die from old age, right?

He wasn't going to stop aging once he was 30 years old or something, right?

(Can he call this immortality if he doesn't know if he can die from old age? If he doesn't know if he'll be stuck at a certain age?).

He stops aging at 19, when the curse swoops in and leaves him broken and an infant.

He feels utter hatred at the curse, at himself. Maybe if this Arcobaleno (and what a _stupid_ name that was) curse didn't happen, then maybe he could have aged and die. Maybe if he didn't agree to meet people he _thought_ were similar to himself, maybe he could have finally had peace once he died of old age.

(Maybe he would have reached the age of 30 and stopped aging still, but Skull tries not to think too much on that).

Instead he is an infant, stuck in a body that was utterly useless with no end in sight.

* * *

 **A/N: Not gonna lie, not my favourite chapter - I'm not fully happy with how it came out but have it. Skull was born in 1964, Curse happened in 1983. Also, if you go on my profile, in my bio I have some updating info about my stories such as: how many chapters I have posted, written up, progress of writing and possible update date - feel free to take a look!**


	8. Immortal

He calls himself immortal. But he is not certain if it is that. He could be indestructible, the only thing that could kill him being old age.

But then, he doesn't know if he is indestructible either. Maybe if he was reduced to dust and launched into space, maybe then he would die? He has never been reduced to dust.

Maybe he just has really advanced healing? He heals himself so quickly, that there is no chance for him to die? But if that was true wouldn't he age quicker, seeing as cells do not perfectly replace each other and so on.

He could test his healing factor. He could set himself on fire, but if it worked, would he be in this continuous cycle of his body burning and then healing and then burning and then-

It was easier to call himself immortal more than anything else.

* * *

 **A/N: I always get bogged down with the meanings of stuff and so does Skull, bless him. Also, do you folks like my cover image? I drew it myself the other day^^ Thank you for the faves, follows and reviews!**


	9. Children

Skull was very good at handling children.

It came somewhat as a surprise to the others. They never took him as particularly parental and yet here he was, easily entertaining the children at the orphanage.

It was a bizzare experience.

"Skull, you seem to get on well with the children," Fon remarked calmly as children climbed all over them. Skull looked up with a grin.

"Of course! Skull-sama used to look after his cousins a lot so now nothing can bring him down!" He crowed, just as a group of children threw themselves at him. Skull held his ground and then after a second fell down, pretending that they overpowered him.

A cheer rose from the children as they started to wrestle with Skull.

"Man down, man down!" He said loudly from the bottom pf the pile, the children around him giggling and shrieking.

It was after the children scattered off to dinner that Skull explained it in more detail to Fon.

"I'm a Cloud, yeah? And I think I've been active since a young age. So, I'm an active Cloud and I'm surrounded by my family, and there are a lot of children and we are in quite bad times and I can't fight whatever is making it all so terrible," he paused and slowed his words. "I think my Cloud nature latched onto all my younger cousins and just wanted them to be happy," here a slight frown crossed his face. "So, I did my best to keep them entertained and happy, at least for a while. It made me feel more… settled, I guess?" He finished off with a shrug.

Fon looked at him for a second, and then hummed with a small smile on his face.

* * *

 **A/N: I imagine that Skull would automatically be good with kids, but then his Cloud nature would make him more so and protective of any kids he considered 'pack' as well.**


	10. Sleep

Skull loved sleep.

He loved bundling up in his warm blankets, pillows upon pillows surrounding him. The covers would be all freshly laundered of course, because nothing put him to sleep easier than the smell of fresh sheets.

He would forget all his everyday, mundane (and the not-so mundane) happenings and dream.

But whilst he loved sleeping and would wish to stay in the embrace of dreams, the problem was that he didn't need a much sleep.

He would always wake up 3 hours after he fell asleep. And no matter how hard he tried, he could not fall asleep until the evening.

He would simply lay in bed, with no success trying to squeeze in just a few more hours, minutes even of that sleep, anything to just forget-

Skull loved sleep.

He just didn't need it as much.


	11. Dreams

Skull has some… unique dreams.

He doesn't always remember them. Sometimes, he will wake with a feeling that the dream he had was weirder than usual. Or he would wake up with a feeling of restlessness.

The dreams that he did remember, those were very… unique… so to say.

Once he dreamt that Verde turned into a dinosaur due to all the experimenting. No matter what Takeshi and Enzo - Dino's _turtle_ of all things - tried doing, nothing could bring him back to being a human. Verde's only complaint was that the new body made it difficult to carry out his experiments.

In another, Lal Mirch was a Captain of a ship. Her crew consisted of Iemitsu Sawada, I-pin, Lichi, Byakuran, Giotto and Shamal. Her rival captain was Colonnello with a crew of only Longchamp Naito and Kyoko Sasagawa. Lal was poking Colonnello with a long tree branch, that had a nest on it, to jump the plank into the jelly sea full of squirrels and half bitten donuts. It was ine interesting dream to say the least. Skull woke up at the moment where Collonello was crying apple juice and sobbing about his three soon-to-be-widowed husbands and seven charcoal children and how he wished he could say goodbye to them.

In all, Skull's dreams were unique.

* * *

 **A/N: I literally just looked at a list of characters and randomly grouped them together to create this scenario, bless Skull and his weird dreams. Updates will be slower in the next weeks/two months - please see my profile for more details. Thank you for reading, following, favouriting and reviewing this story!**


	12. Cold

He froze to death, once, when he was a child.

Winter in Poland was freezing, not as cold as Russia of course, but still freezing. The snow piled on high, and with a big family, his clothes were second-hand and worn.

The one thing he remembers most is how easy, and how peaceful that death was. It wasn't the choking and suffocation of water; it wasn't the burning and melting of fire he later survives; it wasn't the loudness and screaming of guns.

It was easy.

It was quiet.

It was peaceful.

He never freezes to death again, not wanting to experience such a peaceful death, only for him to be ripped back into the mortal world, reminded in a most cruel way that the death was not real.


	13. Viper

Viper - or Mammon as they preferred to be called - was his favourite Arcobaleno.

And that spoke volumes. Mammon reminded him of some of the people in his childhood. Politicians who would do anything for more money; neighbours who would sell out their friends, their family, for money; a person who had no care how little the person had money because you owed them - and you better pay your dues.

And yet-

Mammon only called their dues on scum - if an innocent, someone who did no wrong (well, Mammon's definition of wrong) owed them something, the Mist would be more lenient, offer payment plans - at a fee of course - but nothing higher than what the person would never be able to get and give.

Not that anyone really noticed, paid attention to that. They saw a greedy broker and that was that. But Skull could see, that beneath it all Mammon was a great person - maybe not good, but great. After all, they treated him well and allowed him payments at a reduced fee.

It was this hidden part of Mammon that truly made Skull like them - despite the unfortunate resemblance to some people in his past.

* * *

 **A/N Mammon is gender neutral in this story. Thank you for all the fave, follows and reviews! I should be writing my psychology essay due in Friday but have this. You can check my progress/possible update date in my profile!**


	14. Thankful

**Warnings: this drabble includes references to child abuse, if you feel uncomfortable reading about it, please skip this drabble.**

* * *

If Skull was ever thankful for something, it is that even before he was named Czesław, his father gave him to his uncle, instead of raising him.

His father was very aggressive. His emotions all pent up, and with his wife dying and being left with one child, a son who he considered a freak-

Skull is certain that his childhood would have been full of beatings instead of the occasional smack over the head or an occasionally spanked bottom.

He heard and saw the stories from his classmates in school, bruised arms and cut up faces, backs covered from welts made by a belt. And the fact that they saw nothing wrong with that, that they even expected it - it just boggled Czesław's mind at the time.

He never understood why the violence was so needed, why would you hurt someone to make them understood when you could explain - talk to them. Show compassion.

And maybe this explained why, he didn't like Colonnello and Reborn when he met them.

* * *

 **A/N: I just want to say that I absolutely do not approve of hitting children, and I never will. Moving on from that, the next chapter will also be heavy, if you feel uncomfortable please don't force yourself to read them! If you think I should include any other warnings in any of the drabbles, please do tell me, I really appreciate people pointing stuff like that to me. Thank you for all the faves, follows and reviews! Until next time^^**


	15. Father

He did meet his father, once.

The moment his father laid his eyes on Czesław - who had gained the nickname of Czaszka by that time - he demanded "proper respect" and the use of Ojciec as opposed to Tata. He was uncaring of the fact that he never contacted his son for more than 12 years, no apology or anything. Just a sneer and many demands for his only son.

'I am above you,' just reeked from him. His eyes were full of hate and Czaszka could not believe they were related.

He walked out of the meeting with a throbbing cheek and the beginning of a black eye. He told his uncle that he rather not see his father again and silently promised himself that he would never turn into a person like that.

* * *

 **A/N: Ojciec - father, Tata - dad. I know it's short, but A) nothing else needs to be said about Skull's father and B) I'm busy with uni so you know. Feel free to go on my profile, I have included sneak previews for DitWomS and Coin Toss (yes, I have started writing a 3rd chapter for that, the peer pressure got to me)! I also include my progress, possible upload dates and I have an ideas section there!**


	16. Colonnello

He felt neutral towards Colonnello.

He didn't feel hate towards him, but then he didn't feel love towards him. At most, Skull felt a bit of resentment for his treatment. Usually he felt mischievous around the Rain, attacking Mafia land every so often. He thought of it as some petty revenge for the way the rain treated him.

Colonnello kicked him and shouted at him once in a while and Skull attacked Mafia Land, annoying Colonnello in the process - what a great exchange.

Skull privately thought that he was helping the security there stay on its toes, helping them become better at fending off attacks. Helping them to always stay on their guard.

Colonnello had a different outlook on that of course, but as people say, to-may-to, to-mah-to - same thing really, no matter what the other person calls it.

So he did not have intense feelings of hatred or love for him, as Colonnello was just there.

* * *

 **A/N: I updated? What even is going on, after months of silence here I am, with a finished drabble wow. Anyway hi, how are you all? I hope you all enjoy this drabble^^ I am double uploading today, yay** **. Also, I have posted a new story called _Burning_ about Skull losing his memories if any of you are interested in that!**


	17. Snacks

Skull loves Polish snacks and sweets.

In fact, he has two drawers and a shelf in the fridge just brimming with them. Everything from kròwka, Wedel chocolates and ptasie mleczko to kabanosy and pickles.

His favourite though, has to be paluszki. They are just salted pretzel sticks, but do they make a great snack. He actually always carries a small pack of them wherever he goes and casually snacks on them.

Sometimes he eats them with chocolate. The sweetness of the chocolate combined with the saltiness of the pretzel sticks is one of the best combinations for him.

He also carries some random Polish sweets on him, usually in a fruity flavour. It's what his grandma did, and then his uncle. He picked it up from them and got used to offering them to others.

He actually offered some to the Arcobaleno by accident, habit making him ask before his brain kicked in. The looks on their faces were… interesting.

At least Fon took one.

And the less said about Reborn's reaction, well, the better.

* * *

 **A/N: Kròwka is a soft fudge. Wedel chocolates are just chocolate made by a company called Wedel. Ptasie mleczko is soft chocolate-covered candy filled with soft meringue or milk soufflé. Kabanosy (kabanos for singular) are long dried sausages. Pickles are pickles. Paluszki are thin, salted, pretzel sticks.**

 **I thought that you all deserved a less angsty drabble after all those emotional ones. As always, updates on my profile!^**


	18. Sky

Skull does not want a Sky.

He is not looking for a Sky. He is not putting up a bravado and pretending he doesn't want one whilst inside he is longing for a Sky either. He is truly just not interested.

He knows that having a Sky is a wonderful experience for some. That all the other Arcobaleno crave to have a Sky bond. But he just… doesn't.

Once Fon and Viper (not Mammon, not yet at that point) explained to him about the flames and Mafia (Viper for a price of course) and he finally understood what the purple magic he had was, he voiced his thoughts out loud:

"Skull-sama doesn't want a Sky."

He got into a heated debate with Verde about it actually. All the others listened from the sidelines. They argued back and forth about the flames. Do they have a predisposition where the flames seek out a Sky and a Sky other flames? Verde from his research argued that yes, all these tests on Miafioso clearly show-

But, Skull argued, civilians don't look for Skies or elements to complete it. And yeah they don't go active, but to go active you have to be close to Death. Don't you think that something changes in the person, something that makes them imbalanced and makes them seek a 'harmony'; someone to help them become more balanced and return to the same equilibrium as they had before the activation. And they're not fixing the imbalance because they're not aware of it so they subconsciously seek others to help-

"You're a civilian, you know nothing of flames and Skies. Having a few conversations about them doesn't make you an expert, Lackey," and with that Reborn shut him down and ended the debate, already firing a shot at him.

Later Skull wonders if the reason that Reborn truly keeps a grudge against him is because he brought to attention something that Reborn never wanted to know.

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 **A/N: that you for the reviews, faves and follows! Have this drabble in return for your love^^ Skull loves theorising, not that anyone cares to listen to him bless**


	19. Luce

Luce made him think of cages and loss.

Even the beginning, something unnerved him slightly. Maybe it was the way she acted in a room full of the best, quite possibly most dangerous people.

Maybe it was the motherly air, the round stomach and obvious care she had for her unborn child, something he never remembers experiencing but knows he had - his uncle did tell him his mother called him a gift. Maybe that's why she reminded him of loss.

Maybe it was the look in her eyes he would briefly see later, one that seemed to scream resignation and complete certainty, as though she knew exactly what would happen to them. The gaze made him feel like he had no control, that he was a puppet or caged.

However, despite all this - Skull still loved her as much as he loved all the others and when the Day came and then everything was said and done-

He could not help, but think of a bird with clipped wings, held by a well-meaning owner.

* * *

 **A/N: Reminder that I do not have a beta or anyone looking over this. I'm alllllll byyyyyy myyyseeeelllllffff, so there might be some errors, sorry for that. Thank you for all the faves, follows and reviews! Also** **Kyrianae Narii left a review which had this in** **"...** that Skull has managed to find his own equilibrium that makes him not overly concerned with having a Sky **..." and I just want to leave you all with that ;) not going to comment further on that ;)))).** **Have a lovely day everyone!**


	20. Christmas Special

_**Note:** Italics_: speaking Polish. Normal: speaking English.

* * *

One day, the ex-Arcobaleno walked into their base to find Skull muttering over a list in a foreign language.

"What you doing Skull?" Asked Yuni, peering at the list curiously. Skull blinked at her, startled and then lit up.

"It's Christmas soon, and it's Skull-sama's turn to cook for his family this year!" He gestured wildly.

"Family?"

"My aunt, and uncle, and cousins, and more cousins," Skull listed off with his fingers. "We take turns in cooking the 12 meals each year, and this time it's my turn! Well," Skull paused thoughtfully, wilting slightly "it was my turn a few years back, but they didn't want me cooking in my toddler form."

Skull then muttered uncomprehendingly with a pout, a cloud of gloom over his head. He then perked up "but this year Skull-sama will cook the most glorious Christmas Eve dinner!"

The other ex-Arcobaleno sweat-dropped at the abrupt mood change.

"Catholic Polish Christmas?" Verde muttered to himself thoughtfully, and Skull's ears seemed to perk up.

"Yes! Skull-sama's family is Catholic, so we will be celebrating traditional Polish style! 12 meals on Christmas eve!" And off Skull went, excitedly describing the tradition.

"-And we set an extra space on the table, so if someone were to knock on our door they wouldn't get turned away! You know, like when Mary and Joseph were turned away from every home, and that caused Jesus to be born in a manger-"

And he kept on going.

"-And then we open presents after the dinner-"

"On Christmas Eve?" Reborn asked smoothly, raising one dark eyebrow. Skull blinked at him, as though he expected Reborn to not pay attention to his babble.

"Er, well, yeah," Skull replied. Reborn's eyes glinted.

"Lackey, you better not open any presents without us," here Reborn casually took out one of his guns.

"Of course not, of course not!" Skull said, his arms waving madly. "Skull-sama respects your religious customs and shall open your presents the next day senpai!"

"I wish I could do something like that," Yuni said wistfully. Skull stared at her in confusion before a light bulb lit up above his head.

"Oh yeah, Christmas Eve is usually Mafia gatherings isn't it? I never really attended them, so I tend to forget about them," Skull said.

"Yes," she said glumly.

"Well," here Skull's voice became softer, less boisterous "should you finish early, you're always free to come to Christmas Eve at my house," he sent her a smile.

Yuni blinked at him, and then smiled.

"Alright!"

Without Skull's notice the other ex-Arcobaleno exchanged quick glances.

* * *

Skull quickly stirred the pot, muttering under his breath, "s _almon in tomatoes* is done…. herring in oil*… herrring in sour cream*… have I served the pierogi*?_ "

He continued to stir the borsch* and shouted " _A_ _re the pierogi on the table?_ "

"Yes," said a voice next to him.

" _That's good._ "

A beat of silence.

"IIEEEE- SENPAI? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Too noisy lackey," Reborn said, patting his pocket in warning. "You invited us."

"What- I- no, I didn't! I invited Yuni, and after the parties! It's only 3pm in both Poland and Italy, no way any of the functions are done with!" Skull scowled at Rebron, leaving the borsch be, and instead flipping the salmon on the frying pan.

"You invite one Arcobaleno, you invite us all," a glint of teeth.

Skull grumbled under his breath.

"What was that lackey?" Skull opened his mouth to answer.

" _Uncle Czesio*!_ " and the sound of door opening, saved Skull.

" _Magda! You are looking wonderful,_ " Magda beamed at him, hand hovering over her belly.

" _It's nice to hear such lies,_ " she hugged him tightly and Skull returned the hug carefully. Magda parted from him and then turned towards Reborn.

" _Good evening, I don't think we've met yet_ ," she said. Skull was about to translate, or maybe tell Magda that Reborn did not speak Polish. We may never know that because-

" _Good evening, my name is Reborn, I'm Czesio's co-worker,_ " Reborn introduced himself with a suave smile, his accent barely noticeable. Skull's fist clenched, that bastard. What does he not know? Of course he'd know how to speak Polish.

A cloud of gloom rose around Skull, as he continued cooking. The other two ignored him and talked happily with each other.

" _Uncle Czesio invited you* here?_ "

Skull's head snapped up.

" _Them*? There's more of them?_ "

Magda arched a brow at him and then smiled.

" _Yes Uncle, I think I counted seven_ ," and then ignoring her uncle turning into stone out of despair went on. " _I came here to ask if you needed any help?_ "

" _No, no, no. You go relax, I-_ "

" _I will help him ma'am, please go and enjoy the festivities,_ " Reborn smiled at her and she smiled in return.

" _Better hurry uncle! The kids are watching for the first star already!_ " And with that, she went to the living room, filled with laughter and singing.

"First star?" Reborn asked, sitting on a nearby stool, obviously not planning on helping. What a d-

"We start dinner when the first star appears in the night sky. The kids tend to keep a watch out as the sooner they eat, the sooner they open the presents," he explained plating the fish. Wordlessly, Reborn picked up the fish and disappeared momentarily as Skull blinked after him. Skull could hear the dim of talking recede and then pick up, before Reborn reappeared. Okay, so maybe he did plan on helping out a bit.

"12 dishes?" What was with this inquisition, couldn't Skull cook in peace?

"Traditionally yeah. And they're meant to be meat-free. Recently, the church decided that it was okay to eat meat again, but no. We are doing it traditionally," a fire lit up Skull's eyes as he started plating the sauerkraut with peas faster.

"Of course." And off he went again.

"I only need to plate the borsch," Skull told him when he came back. And then he started to carefully plate it. Reborn sighed.

"What is it?" He asked lazily, leaning against a counter. Skull carefully considered his words.

"Why come here for Christmas Eve?" Skull blurted out. He then decided to plow on. "Why not go to mafia functions, or shoot at Tsuna for not behaving like a mafia boss during the functions? Why come to my home for Christmas Eve? I'm sure you have your own Italian traditions with family and stuff," Skull cut off his own babbling.

Reborn considered him quietly. His eyes gleamed and then he opened his mouth.

" _The first star uncle! The first star is here!_ " One of the children shouted. Reborn took the borsch bowl out of his hands and vanished into the dining room.

Skull stared after him with his empty hands. He then shook himself, took off the apron and grabbed the wafer.

* * *

It was during the dinner that Skull looked around and decided he was having deluded dreams. There was something bizarre, something inexplicable in seeing the ex-Arcobaleno sat around the Christmas table with him and his family. Something about seeing Viper talk with his business cousins, Lal and Colonnello entertaining the kids with their usual banter (made PG) and just other ex-Arcobaleno interacting with his family, made Skull's brain do the mental equivalent of 'huh'. Learning that Reborn brought with him an Italian Christmas cake to give to Skull's family, made Skull's brain short-circuit.

"We came here, because we're family Skull," said Yuni quietly from next to Skull, her plate loaded with food from his relatives, startling Skull. He turned towards her. She was smiling happily, the wistfulness from a few days mostly gone, as she took part in the Christmas cheer. Some members of the family were singing Christmas carols nearby, whilst others laughed and clinked their glasses together.

"Wesołych Świąt* Skull," said Yuni with the biggest smile he has seen in a while.

Skull smiled back.

"Wesołych Świąt."

* * *

 **Wesołych Świąt: Merry Christmas!**

 **Salmon in tomatoes: fried salmon covered in mix of grated pickles, tomatoes and apples.**

 **Herring in oil: raw herring with oil, onions and some herbs like parsley**

 **Herring in sour cream: raw herring in sour cream with onions. Some people add chopped apples**

 **Pierogi: polish dumplings, traditionally for Christmas Eve the filling is sauerkraut with mushrooms.**

 **Borsch: for Christmas Eve, you traditionally either have borsch with uszka (mini dumplings) or mushroom soup with potatoes.**

 **Uncle Czesio: Remember that Skull's name is Czesław, Czesio is a nickname. His Polish family refer to him using that name, rather than Skull.**

 **In Polish, there are different forms of 'you' (male, female, plural, dependent on where in the sentence it is etc.), Magda was using plural you, referring to multiple people rather than just one. "Uncle invited you all here?" vs "Uncle invited only you sir?". In Polish it would translate like "Wujek Czesio was** **zaprosił** **?" vs "Wujek Czesio zaprosił pana?" with Magda using 'sir' to refer to Reborn, as he is a stranger. Unless he gives permission to use first name only, she will continue to call him 'Mr. Reborn'. Manners and all that.**

 **Not mentioned: Skull is not wearing make-up but I had no way to work it in. Also, different parts of Poland have different dishes, and slightly different traditions. This is just one take!**

 **Merry Christmas everyone! I wanted to get this one out quickly so it's not polished, but I did write more than I tend to do for the drabbles and I hope you enjoyed this Christmas Special!^^**


	21. Civilian

Skull grew up as a civilian and despite the years he spent in the mafia, this was still the most defining feature for the others.

'The Civilian Arcobaleno'

He wasn't the Arcobaleno that just so happened to be a civilian. He was a civilian who just happened to be Arcobaleno.

He didn't mind that much. In fact, he was quite happy that he was born as a civilian and not into the mafia world. Apart from the obvious reasons of not having to drench his hands in blood or growing up with a violent mindset, he always thought that being a civilian gave him an unique outlook on the mafia and their beliefs.

For example, the Sky thing. Everyone in the mafia grows up believing that harmony is the ultimate goal, something all the elements should strive towards, because they've been taught that from a young age. But civilians don't have those preconceptions, in fact, whenever Skull talked to active civilians they never mentioned a longing for harmony before becoming aware of the mafia, of the flames.

The Mafia born longed for harmony, Skull decided, because they've been taught to long for it since their birth.

* * *

 **A/N: you can find me on tumblr under Dessmina! I also made some slight grammar/spelling changes to the previous chapter, don't mind me.**


	22. Verde

If Mammon brought up some bad memories, then Verde was in a class of his own in that regard.

After he became a stuntman, but before his career as Skull, The Immortal Stuntman came to fruition, he was kidnapped by some mafioso. They would experiment on him, and once they found out he would come back from dying each time-

He still remembers the faces of the scientists vividly. The calculating gleams, hands shaking in anticipation of new scientific discovery, no matter the costs! What does one life of a measly civilian, a cloud, matter?

It mattered a lot to Skull. He burnt the entire lab down.

Later Skull finds it ironic. After joining the Mafia, he learns that they were Miafioso, that they only reason that they kidnapped him is because of his flames. He finds it ironic because that is what allowed him to escape.

But the scientists, they reminded him greatly of Verde. The same look in his eyes, the same disregard for human life - as long as he could experiment, learn something new; he couldn't care less. The only saving grace for Verde being that he would not needlessly experiment on others; he didn't experiment for the fun of it, didn't torture for fun, but more for the knowledge.

But it is that callousness that sometimes sends Skull into flashbacks.

* * *

 **A/N: I don't have that much motivation to continue writing for this story, but feel free to check my tumblr for other stuff I write, you can find me under the same name!**


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